Getting on like Cats and Dogs
by Adarah
Summary: 10/Rose 10.5/Donna Takes place after Journey's Beginning. The newly bonded couples decide they want to go on a proper honeymoon, and set their sights on Barcelona the planet not the city.
1. Morning After

A/N : This is a continuation of Journey's Beginning and takes place the morning after. I'm rating this teen, but I've been corrupted by the internet so if you feel like it should be rated M let me know and I'll change it.

Disclaimer : Even though everyone already knows it, I do not own Doctor Who.

* * *

He's stroking Donna's hair, laying in their bed and life couldn't be better. He has a new name, one his bondsmate is partial to and picked out for him. It's not a Gallifreyan name, but still, it's decent. At least now they wont have any confusion about what to call who. James Noble, timelord. That's an odd thing, he's a timelord with only one heart, like he's in his first regeneration again. He can feel it beating in his chest and it feels weak somehow. Like he's only half powered.

"We could probably fix that you know?" comes the muffled voice in the vicinity of his bare chest. Donna caresses the silent side of his chest where the other heart should sit.

"Do you want me to? Do you wanna feel the syncopated rhythm of my hearts beating just for you?"

"Trying to be a poet are you?"

"I'd try to be anything for you Donna." He whispers quietly to her hair.

He feels her love crash over him in a wave that threatens to sweep him away and allows it to pass through him. He kisses her on the top of the head.

"You didn't answer my question though. Do you want me to change?"

She continues to stroke his chest for a few moments, then says quietly "I can feel how much you miss it."

And it's true he does, but he loves Donna more and if it's going to bother her to hear two hearts in his chest then he'll live with only one. He hears her sigh as she sits up and turns to face him.

"Look I know you need to figure out who you are as opposed to who the Doctor is, but I don't wanna decide who you should be." She cups his face with her hand to take the sting out of her words. He presses his hand over hers.

"I wanna give you what he was able to give her. He regenerated into this face to please her-"

"I don't want you to regenerate."

"And it would hurt you so I wont if I can help it. But I still want to be the man you want me to be... I don't want you to leave me" He finishes in a barely audible whispers.

"Leave you!" She all but shouts incredulously. "Why on earth would I leave you? We're bonded, you've felt my feelings. You KNOW how I feel, why would you think I'd wanna leave you?"

"I know you feel that way now. But I'm barely not him now. As time goes on I'm gonna make different decisions I'm gonna be less and less like him. You love me now, but I'm the most like him now, when I'm not like him anymore are you still going to love me?"

"Of course I will you big alien git." She pokes him in the chest "You are my bondsmate, Not him. He is my best friend, I love him but I'm not _in_ love with him."

"I don't understand what that even means." he whines

She huffed. He felt their bond open wide.

"What do you feel when you think of Rose."

Even though she asked in a neutral voice he felt concerned about answering. But she could sense his feelings, so he thought of Rose and felt the strong urge to protect her, to make her laugh, to keep her happy. He didn't feel any passion or desire for her. "I feel like she's my little sister."

"Do you love her?"

He hesitates slightly "Yes, but not like I love you. I love her like I would family but I love you like... You're my wife Donna."

"Exactly. That's how I feel about you and the Doctor. You are not him but like him. I married by best friends brother."

"Yes but how do you know you'll still love me later when I'm even less like him?"

"Because you are enough like him that no matter how much you change, you'll still be a good man."

He thinks about that for a moment, lets it stew, as her faith in him settles into his psyche. Finally he sums up his life so far with "James Noble: bondsmate to Donna Noble; timelord with one heart; good man."

"You aren't half crazy." Donna giggled out.

"Crazy in love with you." He answered in an over the top sweet voice.

As Donna continued to giggle he pounced. Pressing her down into the mattress he caresses her body and takes possession of her mouth with his. Her giggled turn to moans as she moves her hands over his back. Then her stomach growls. He pulls back to look at her.

"You're hungry." he declares. "Come to think of it I could use something to eat as well." Donna's back to giggling at him. "How 'bout you stay just like this and I go get us some food, then we can have breakfast in bed." He says with a grin.

"How 'bout," She whispers seductively "we make ourselves presentable and see if the other two have come out of hiding, and all have breakfast together."

He groans petulantly into the crook of her neck where he had been nuzzling. "But, Donna... I like having you naked in our bed." He pulls back to meet her eyes, wiggling his eyebrows "Can't we have naked breakfast in bed?"

She's outright laughing at him now, shoving on his shoulder. He flops over to lay beside her on the mattress. "I'd like a chance to talk to Rose, with the whole multi-verse ending we didn't get to have a proper chat. Besides I'm curious what they did last night." She says with a conspiratorial smirk.

"If he has any sense at all... the same things we did." He's leering at her as she rolls out of bed and stretches, then realizes she's no longer in bed. "Wait, you're serious!" His rather unmanly pitch send her into another fit of giggles. "Wait, Donna... But.." He stutters as she saunters toward the en'suite, he's transfixed for a moment by her exaggerated hip swaying. "But... Donna... This is the honeymoon faze. We aren't supposed to leave the bedroom for a week." This declaration has Donna's giggles turning into peels of laughter. He jumps out of bed right before she closes the door. Falling back onto the bed he lets out a noise somewhere between a sigh and a groan. Donna's attempts to soothe his wounded pride are undermined by the riotous laughter coming from their bathroom.

* * *

As they work together to make a full English breakfast a petulant voice can be heard coming toward the galley.

"But, Ro-ose. It's not like they're going to be out of their room yet. Can't we just..." the frustrated groan the Doctor made when he entered the kitchen sends the rest of them into a fit of giggles. As James turns to set food on the table he see the murderous glower that his brother levels at him, and smirks.

"Told you." was Roses quietly smug reply and James and Donna upgraded from giggles to full on laughter.

* * *

They're all silent around the table as they tuck into their food. After most of breakfast is gone Rose speaks up.

"So, what do we call you. Do you want to be called the Doctor or..."

"No, that's his title. I've taken a new name." James says proudly grinning at Donna.

"What's that then?" the Doctor asks.

"James Noble." he declares with a smile that almost hurts his face.

Rose is smiling her tongue in teeth grin "Nice to meet you James."

"Likewise Rose."

"Really... James?" the Doctor asks incredulously.

Donna's ire seems to radiate in the air around her "What's wrong with James?" she asks.

"It's a lot better than 'John Smith'" James says at the same time.

Rose bumps the Doctors shoulder "You're bein' rude again."

"What's wrong with 'John Smith'?" the Doctor seems to ignore her. "It's worked for me for centuries."

"It's not very imaginative." James goads. He likes his name, no matter what his smarmy brother thinks.

"Oh and James is."

James feels Donna's insecurity. He stands from the table his chair squeaking in protest at the quick movement. "Theta!" he barks, glaring at the man who caused Donna pain. This has the desired effect as the Doctor stands his eyes wide with shock, then narrow in anger.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?" Rose says as she tries to calm the Doctor down.

"Stop it" says Donna quietly as she grips his arm. She know how much that name hurts the Doctor, isn't happy that he would summon it.

"Oh no." James says as he watches the Oncoming Storm across from him "We're having it out right now. You are going to get you're head out of your arse and listen to me you arrogant prick." The others flinch at the unexpected harsh language and he hears his brothers thoughts clearly.

_Dalek Caan said one of them would die still. It WONT be Rose, or Donna. I REFUSE to let it be either of them._

"You pompous arrogant areshole. You were going to leave us all behind. The three of us, just left like so much unwanted trash. And all three of us deprived of who we needed. How many would be dead to you then? Last time there was a prophecy about death, Rose was trapped in Pete's world. This time if you had left us there, there would be three of us dead. No make that four, cause Jackie would of been left behind too." It seemed to seep in that he'd just answered that prophecy. "And there you go. Jackie is who Caan was talking about. Trapped on the other side of the void, might as well be dead from our prospective."

The glare of the Oncoming Storm transformed into a look of wonder. "Everybody lives?"

"Everybody lives you ponce!"

The glare was back, not nearly as much heat to it though. "No name calling."

"Yes mum." James grinned back cheekily, then more sternly "No makin' fun of my name." They grin at each other. Turning back to Donna, James recoils at her scowl. She was holding one of Roses hands with both of hers. Rose was close to tears, but holding them back admirably. Oh no. Rose was here, the rest of her family tapped on the other side of the void, and like the moron he is, he reminded her of it, practically rubbed her nose in it. "Rose... Oh Rassilon. Rose I'm sorry. I didn't think. I'm so, so sorry. Rose, please don't cry."

The Doctor sat back down and hauled her into his lap, holding her tightly. She began to sniffle as she borrowed into her husbands neck. "I miss 'em. I wanna be here, bu' I still miss 'em."

"I'm sorry." James whispered. He could feel Roses pain, the Doctors frustration, and Donna's anger. He felt tiny. He had hurt his family. He started to walk away, but was caught by Donna.

"Where do you think you're going handy?" Donna tugged on his hand "Sit"

Obediently James took his seat, staring at the half eaten sausage on his plate so he could avoid everyone's eyes.

"James." It was the first time the Doctor had used his name. Looking up he realized Rose was staring at him from the other mans lap. She had tear tracks on her cheeks but she still gave him a wavering smile.

"I'm sorry." He whispered again brokenly.

Rose nodded "It's okay." She answered just as quietly. "It just hit me that I'll never get to see them again. It's not your fault."

"We... might be able to find a way back across..." James began.

"Not if it's gonna rip apart two universes." Rose insisted.

"Well, we have more timelords now..." the Doctor offered

"We'd have to rebuild the Eye of Harmony, and the dimensional doors." Donna added.

"We need Omega's Hand, and another timelord or two." James finished.

"That reminds me." Rose began. "You said that mine and Donna's DNA wasn't fully timelord, but that we would still live as long as you two, how does that work?"

"Well..." the Doctor began in full on lecture mode. " Once the Untempered Schism appeared it began to slowly change the DNA of the ancient Gallifreyans into something closer to timelord TNA. Then Rassilon came along and saw where evolution was heading and he pushed it along, creating timelords in the process. Your genetics are closer to pre-Rassilon timelords. I'd like to go over the data again, but I think you still might be able to regenerate, I'd rather not test that the hard way though."

"Wait... wasn't that before the fall of Pythia? Does that mean we aren't sterile? Oh My God, I'm pregnant." Donna cried.

James chocked on the bit of sausage that he had been chewing on. The Doctors expression had turned ashen, and Rose was moving her mouth as everyone tried to work up to speech. Rose got there first.

"I'm... I'm... Oh my god."

James focused on his love for Donna and sent that feeling to her. "Donna, you're not pregnant." Her disbelief shot through their link. "You're not ovulating." He murmured.

"How do you know?" She hissed back

_I can taste it._

"Oh" Donna's face was doing it's best to match her hair color.

The Doctor cleared his throat "Still we should see if...the curse of Pythia has been lifted."

* * *

The four of them stood in front of the scanner screen again. James was pulling the relevant information up from the scans they had done just yesterday. The Doctor blinks at the screen as the information comes up. Blimey, it hadn't even been twenty four hours yet. He was still reeling. He had thought that he was going to be alone again barely fourteen hours ago. Now he had a wife, brother, sister-in-law, and may have the possibility of children in the future. It was hard to identify the emotion that was racing through him right now, he didn't think he'd ever felt this way. Rose's emotions seemed to match. Elation, that's what it was, along with some fear.

_How do you feel about all this? _He thinks at his bondsmate.

_I... Don't know. You? _She was blocking him somehow, holding back her thoughts until she knew his.

_Rose... I want this. Maybe not this soon, but I want children with you. _

_Oh... _He felt her relief flood their link, along with her fear that he would still leave her.

_WHAT?! Rose I love you why would I leave you? _She pulled back from the link slightly, reluctant to answer. _Please don't hide anything from me Rose. _He pleads

The link seemed to snap back into place and he feels her fear take shape. With her pregnant she can't keep up with him. He also wouldn't risk her or their child so makes her stay in the TARDIS more and more until he decides that still isn't safe enough so leaves her with James and Donna on Earth while he goes off to save the universe alone.

_Rose no. I am NEVER going to leave you again. But, you're right if you get pregnant I won't risk that, maybe we could stay on earth for a while. Try out domestic life?_

_No, I don't do domestic anymore. I want to live on the TARDIS and travel with you. It's just pregnancy not a disease. Mum went through two invasions while she was pregnant and Tony was fine. When I get pregnant I will NOT be treated like an invalid._

_When? You mean you'd actually want children with me?_

_Of course I do, I love you._

Elation is no longer a good enough description for this emotion. This new feeling is overpowering, blasting through both his heart making his chest ache. He feels tears of joy welling in his eyes. He scoops Rose up in a tight hug, spinning her around and sharing this new feeling with her.

"Take that, you old cow!" James crows.

The Doctor releases Rose to see what his brother has found, only to see him snogging Donna. Rose starts giggling, he joins her. "Oi, does that mean good news?"

James pulls back from Donna to grin at him. His eyes are sparkling as he replies "Betcha we'll have our first before you do."

"Oi, that's not something you can decide on your own Slim Jim." Donna says as she pokes James in the chest. His stunned face sends Rose over the edge into hysteria. "Slim Jim?" He asks in mock horror.

The Doctor wraps his arms around Rose, pulling her back to his front, murmuring in her ear "So where do you want to go, Rose Tyler? Anywhere in time and space."

"How 'bout a proper honeymoon?" Suggests Donna.

"Ooo, I like that idea. What about Barcelona the planet not the city? We never did get there."

"Barcelona it is, Rose Tyler."


	2. Impoundment

"So what do you think?" James asks as he steps into the console room. He spins around so that the Doctor can see his new look. He's traded in his blue suit and maroon t-shirt for a charcoal grey suit and a black button down with the top two buttons left undone, no tie.

"You changed!"

"Yup!" He said popping his p. "Donna seems to like it." His cheeky grin nearly splits his face.

"What happened to the blue suit?"

James sighs "I put it in the wash. You can have it back."

The Doctor nods. "Where are Rose and Donna?"

"Off gossipin' or tryin' on clothes or whatever women do when they're havin' a bit of girl time. I wasn't welcome." he adds petulantly. "So I figured I'd come up here and help you pilot. Make sure we land on Barcelona and not in Spain." he's grinning again.

"Oi! I'm not that bad of a driver." is the Doctor's indignant reply.

"You forget, I have your memories."

The Doctor only huffs in response, as James joins him at the console.

* * *

Donna shuffled through the racks of clothing in the wardrobe room looking for the right outfit. Rose was a few racks over doing the same.

"I had a question for you..." Rose began.

"Alright."

"Well, you and I both bonded-."

"I don't want the Doctor if that's what you're gonna ask."

"No. No not at all. Umm... I was actually wondering..."

"What?" Donna stopped looking at clothes and turned to the other woman. Rose was studiously studying different dresses and refusing to meet Donna's gaze.

"It's just... you have all his memories from bonding with James, so why don't I?"

"Oh!... Best we can guess is that when Davros zapped me it broke the bond wide open, forcing me to sort through all his memories right then. That isn't a good idea and it nearly killed me, but I picked up some of his regeneration energy and that stabilized me. I think. Maybe." She shrugged "Regeneration isn't what I would call an exact science, bit more hit or miss than I'd like."

"So I might be able to do that whole..." She waved her hand around "timelord... thing at some point?"

"Yeah. It just might take you a while. It's best if you go over them together a little at a time, let them settle naturally. Just know that well over a thousand years of memories is gonna take some time to get through."

"A Thousand?!"

Donna couldn't contain her laughter, Rose looked totally shocked. "Oh Yeah! He's been lying about his age for centuries. Okay not actually lying, but he uses a different measuring system to calculate it whichever way strikes his fancy, whether that makes him nine hundred and four or only one hundred and thirty-seven."

Donna could tell from the concentration on Roses face that she was communicating with the Doctor. All of a sudden she broke out into a grin, shot Donna a conspiratorial look and went back to looking through clothes. Even Donna could feel that the Doctor was embraced and contrite. She giggled and went back to her perusal.

* * *

"Welcome to Barcelona, Barcelona, Barcelona!" The Doctor says with a sweep of his arm to indicate the city beyond the small alley they've landed in.

"What?" Rose asks.

The Doctor doesn't seem to hear her as he makes his way toward the street. Donna sighs "It's like saying London, England, Earth." she explains to Rose.

"So the city's named Barcelona?" Donna and James nod. "And the country's named Barcelona?" Again they nod. Rose looks skeptical.

"It's the capitol." James informs her with a shrug.

The Doctor comes back "Well come on then." He says motioning impatiently to he street. Rose happily takes his arm.

"So, where are we going?"

"Well, we landed on the north side of the city so we can explore around here for a bit. Should have some nice hotels there, if I remember correctly."

"That's nice." Says James as he looks at Donna "I think we're going to the south side-"

"The old city?" The Doctor cuts in incredulously.

"Yeah, do a bit of shopping in the merchant quarter then find a quaint little inn." Donna adds

"What do you think? Five days?" at Donna's nod James turns to the Doctor "Meet back here in five days. Rose you have Donna's number, right?"

"Yeah?..."

"Great! Call us if you wanna meet for dinner or if, I don' know, you need us to bail you out or something." James grins at them.

The Doctor's indignant "Oi" comes at the same time as Roses "What about you two?"

"Well I expect we'll be fine." James answers. "But anytime you two are together it's like the embodiment of Sod's Law. I'd be willing to bet you a tenner that at least one of you will be in jail by tonight." James goads.

Rose and the Doctor both let out a "You're on!" as they head down the alley toward the street together.

* * *

Barcelona was nice this time of year. Wellll, it was nice anytime of year for that matter, but it just seems more compelling, more beautiful now. He's pretty sure that's because he has Rose with him now, more so that she's his bondsmate. Gives a whole new meaning to 'looking at life through Rose colored glasses' he muses. He still can't believe it. Not only is Rose Tyler back from beyond the void, but she's also his wife. He knows he's grinning like an idiot, but he can't help it, doesn't really want to either.

"You're cute when you're happy." Rose tells him as she swings their clasped hands.

"Ro-ose. Really, you can't come up with any better adjectives?"

"How 'bout besotted. You're cute when you're besotted." She's doing that thing with her tongue and teeth that drives him to distraction. There's only one response that's acceptable now. He drags her into his arms and kisses her, pulling back before it can turn into a snog. His idiotic grin is a touch smug now that he's managed to daze her. She recovers quickly.

"So where are these dogs with no noses?" She asks as she admires the white column, Romanesque architecture of the buildings around her.

He grins and leads her from the small side street they were on into an open market bazaar. The majority of 'people' weren't human, but a humanoid race with the potential ancestry of some kind of canine. They really did look like bipedal dogs with no noses. Around two meters tall on average their short fur varied in color from yellow to chocolate with a smaller number being black or white. Their heads were reminiscent of a beagles, with short snout and large eyes, but with perky triangular ears. Where the nose would be on an earth canine was a patch of thinly furred skin that looked like it would be soft to the touch, a small slit being the only thing that broke the uniformity of the small patch of skin. Among the throng of dogs with no noses there were also a smattering of other species, mostly humanoid. Rose was grinning ear to ear. He opens their bond explaining to her that the dominant species on the planet are the canixe, the dogs with no noses, that they flooded this place after their home system was destroyed in a war. He loves how her eyes still fill with wonder at the sight of new people and places.

"God, it's been so long since I've done this." She says on a deep breath. She stands watching the scene for a while, taking it in, the bright colored clothes, the exotic smells, his hand in hers. She smiled up at the Doctor. "Come on then, lets go shopping." She tugged on his hand and leads him into the thick of it.

* * *

As she walks through the market, Rose's eye is caught by a booth with a beautiful display of jewelry. The rings are simply gorgeous, and she quickly finds one that she loves. She looks up intent on getting the Doctors attention, but instead her eyes are drawn to a catkind, like the ones from that awful hospital with Cassandra. He stands out though, he's sleek and black and she knows if Jack was here he'd be off introducing himself. But he's just standing next to the stall selling local pottery, not shopping. It's his clothing, she decides that's what sets him apart, he's wearing just some dull colored shorts while everyone else is in bright colors from head to toe. He also seems dejected somehow, and it's ringing all kinds of alarm bells in her head. She's just about to head over to talk to him when a commotion a few stalls down sends the whole market into a frenzy.

"WHAT are you DOING!" Someone shouts further down the crowded market street. "That's not something you lick... OH SWEET FNELP. IT'S RABID. Someone HELP it's trying to BITE ME!" multiple screams follow this plea for help and a mass of people start running from the scene.

She looks to where she had left the Doctor looking at possible TARDIS parts. Nope not there. If he's gotten himself arrested she just might have to call James to come bail him out and collect his tenner.

* * *

James tugs Donna further down the sloping streets of the city. "You sure we can't find the inn first and then go shopping." James asks as he leers at his wife.

Donna just looks at him incredulously raising an eyebrow.

"What can I say, you've created a monster."

Donna just huffs "Shopping first Martian boy. Then dinner. Then the inn." He's looking at her like she just kicked his puppy and she can't hold back her grin in any longer. "You'll live." She informs him helpfully.

"Fine." He huffs back "But we're picking up food while we shop, then we're not leaving the inn for the next couple of days." He declares seriously.

"Most of tomorrow sure, days no."

He smirks and continues to lead her down the cobblestone streets.

* * *

It takes them under an hour to reach the center of the city. They meander through the large park straddling the river that divides the city into new and old, enjoying the plants from many different worlds. On his previous visit the Doctor had stayed on the north side of the river and they decided they wanted to make new memories, have new experiences without the shadow of someone else's past hanging over them. They find a tree that looks almost silver in the light of the midday sun, it reminds them of a home neither has actually seen before. James grips Donna's hand tighter in his. She sends him love and comfort through their bond and they continue on their leisurely journey. As they cross the bridge they stop to watch a small group of aquatic lizards playing in the shallows of the river. Watching the young play in the water while their parents stand on guard on the banks makes Donna think about her own life.

_Do you really want children?... With me?_

_Yes. _Comes his immediate response. _Just not yet. I still need to... finish cooking? No, balance myself... Find myself... Something like that... Why? Do you want to have kids?_

_I... Yes. But I'm not ready yet either._

He turns to her, smiling lasciviously at her. _We can still practice a lot right?_

She starts laughing, can't help it. _I love you Slim Jim._

_Love you too, earth girl._

Their trek finally leads them to the other side of the park, the contrast is striking. Where the new city was all gleaming white buildings and the park was pristinely kept green space this side of the city is all crumbling dull mud brick. It still feels belittling and wise in that way that all ancient places seem to evoke.

"Right." James says "The sooner we get shopping out of the way the sooner we can get to the inn."

* * *

They find a small market and commence with shopping, Donna stopping to look at anything that catches her eyes and James on a mission to find provisions. So far Donna has a pair of earrings and James has some sort of flatbread, nut spread and fruit preserves.

"Peanut butter and jelly isn't gonna cut is spaceman." She tells him after inspecting his purchases. He stares at her for a moment.

"Fine." he huffs. He finds something like chocolate sauce, the grin he shoots her when he puts that in his bag is downright filthy.

* * *

Donna is looking at some broken parts and thinking she might be able to get them to word for the TARDIS when she realizes something seems off about the market. All the stall owners and workers are the nose less canixe, so are the majority of the shoppers. In fact they are the only human looking people here. As she takes a more careful stock of her surroundings she notices that there are a few catkind around, each in a simple colorless garment, standing near a few of the stalls. None of them are shopping.

_James do you notice anything odd about the catkind here?_

_I didn't, why? What do you see?_

_I don't know yet._

He joins her, taking her hand as they watch a canixe order a female catkind to carry a heavy looking crate heaping over with an apple-looking fruit. She sets the crate down on the stalls table and one of the small fruit falls out of the crate and bounces to the ground. The stall owner starts to yell at the smokey grey cat about the loss of sales she just caused. James is already on the move even before the canixe slaps the cowering cat, Donna right behind him and heading for the injured cat.

"What are you doing!" James demands "You can't just go around hitting people." He stands in front of the stall owner, Oncoming Storm glare in place, nose to... well, no nose. The stall owner bares his teeth.

"PERSON! HA, it's not a person and I can do whatever I want with my pet."

As James confronts the nose less dog, Donna crouches in front of the cowering girl.

"Are you alright sweetheart?"

"Please don't hurt me, it was an accident."

"I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. What's your name?"

She looks up at Donna with wonder in her eyes. "You can understand me?"

"Of course. Did he hurt you?" She shakes her head "What's your name?"

"I... I'm called Kera. How do you understand me?"

The stall owner's shouts drown out any hope of a reply. "Sapient... Catkind haven't been sapient for ages. Shows how much you know. Now get away from my property you loon." he shoves James out of the way and grabs Kera, forcibly dragging her away. James helps Donna up.

"So looks like we've landed ourselves into the middle of a mystery." James still looks ready to blow something up.

"It's like the Ood all over again." Donna commented under her breath.

* * *

It had taken Rose a few hours to get to this point. First she had to find out where the Doctor was even taken, then, after she had stopped laughing, she had to sign the appropriate paperwork, pay all the fees and endure a half-hour lecture on the importance of keeping a hold of her pets leash at all times. The most difficult part of all that being not laughing though the lecture, having decided that it was easier to go along with them then to explain that he wasn't a pet. It also served him right for even getting into this mess, I mean did he really have to lick everything. She was still trying to decide if being impounded was close enough to being jailed when the Pet Affairs Officer led her back to claim the Doctor. As she was led through the kennels she noticed that almost every pen had one or two catkind in them. Finally standing in front of the Doctor's pen she couldn't decide if she was angry at his treatment or was looking at the funniest thing she'd ever seen. She settled for indignant humor.

"Was it really necessary for him to be restrained?"

The Doctor was glaring murderously at the 'guard' through his muzzle, his hands being chained to a belt around his torso.

_You're getting enjoyment from my pain now, are you Tyler?_

She grinned at him, tongue in teeth. _Yes I am. And did you learn your lesson about not licking everything in sight?_

"Sorry miss, but he was very vocal, and he kept trying to bit. Little trouble maker, that one. You might want to consider trading him in, getting something a little more manageable." The 'warden' said as he unlocked the cage.

"No thanks, I'm quite attached to this one."

_Ro-ose, just get me out of this ridiculous contraption._

She pulled the muzzle off and started work on the belt and handcuff combination.

"I mean really, that was the worst treatment I have ever received in any prison I've been in... and that's saying something." The Doctor launched into his tirade as soon as the muzzle was off.

Rose turned to the guard "Any idea where I can pick up one of these?" she asked holding up the muzzle.

The Doctor turned a mutinous glare on her and cut his tirade short. _That's not even funny Rose._

"Is to" She mumbled as she let the rest of his restraints fall to the floor.

His response was lost in an explosion that blasted the back and side wall of his cell. He tackled Rose to the ground, covering her with his body as debris rained down in the now ruined kennel.


	3. The Animals are Talking

A/N: I'm really sorry it's taken so long to update. Life's been weird the past couple months. I still probably won't be able to update as often as I'd like, but I should be able to finish this fic by the end of February.

Spoilers: New Who Series 1 thru 4.

Pairings: Rose/Doctor (10) and Donna/Duplicate (10.5)

Disclaimer: Even though everyone already knows it, I do not own Doctor Who.

* * *

No one was talking to them. All the stall owners nearby had seen how the pair had reacted to Kera's treatment, and they wouldn't even acknowledge the outsiders now. Even further down the street, everyone seemed to be ignoring them, as if someone had warned them not to talk to the two bald bipeds.

"We're never going to learn anything at this rate," James ground out in frustration.

"I think we need to find a Cat Kind we can talk to," Donna responded absently, looking for any around.

"None of their 'owners' are going to let us speak to them… What happened here?"

His frustrated anger crashes in on Donna in waves.

"James calm down," she commands a bit too sharply.

He turns to her in surprise, snapped out of the spiraling miasma of his thoughts by his bondsmate's annoyance. "Sorry," he responds meekly, "I'm having some trouble leveling out my emotions. That regeneration... generation...," he sounds confused, "whatever that was, was the oddest thing that's ever happened to me. Weellllll, it was actually the first thing that's ever happened to me...," he groans, "and I have all these memories that aren't mine, but feel like mine..." His frustration is rising again.

"It's alright, I understand, I have all of your, his, our..." Donna sighs. "We have all the same memories, I do understand. But right now let's focus on fixing whatever happened on Barcelona, yeah?"

"Right, sorry. So how do we find out what happened to change the cats, when nobody will look at us, let alone speak to us?"

"We could always try the local history museum."

"But Donna," he whines, "why go to a dusty old building to read about something, when you can live it?" She just stares at him for a moment before turning around and starting off down the road. "Fine," he huffs out petulantly as he follows her out of the semi crowded market.

* * *

The rubble is still settling as the Doctor seeks out Rose through their bond, trying to access if she's been hurt. She sends him reassuring emotions and her own worry for him. He does a quick mental tally of himself and finds he's fine. He scrambles to his feet and helps Rose to hers as a group of unidentifiable bipeds race in from the new hole in the wall. He counts eleven figures as they enter the room, all wearing helmets and black clothing, most carry a weapon, though those look like an assortment of anything they found lying around. The officer that had escorted Rose to the kennels finally shakes out of his daze and pulls (what looks to him to be) a stun baton, the nearest mad bomber rushes him, wrenches it out of the dogs grip and slams a fist into his muzzle. The guard goes sprawling, hits the floor and stops moving. The attacker advances wielding his newly procured weapon.

"Stop!" commands one of the helmeted intruders. The attacker freezes. "He's no longer a threat, just free the others." The attacker growls but turns away from the unconscious dog, runs out of the ruined kennel, and around the corner. The rest of the group goes to follow.

"What's going on here?" the Doctor demands.

The group of strangers quickly spin around, the commander aiming some kind of gun at them, judging by the state of the rest of their weapons it is probably harmless, but the Doctor shields Rose with his body anyway, he doesn't want to test out the potential of her regenerative abilities now, or ever actually.

"What are they?" one of the group asks.

"Doesn't matter," the leader declares, "I'll take care of them. Just hurry up, the Canixe will be sending backup soon." At his word, the others quickly rush out of the kennel.

"Why don't you put the gun away so we can discuss why you're breaking into a kennel like civilized beings?" the Doctor begins after the rest of them leave. "I'm the Doctor by the way, and this is Rose," he says as casually as he can with a gun pointed in their direction.

Rose peaked out from behind him and waves. "Hi."

The helmet rears back and the gun droops. "You... you understand?"

"No I don't, that's why I asked. So why did you blow a hole in the wall?"

Rose pokes him in the back. "I don't think that's what he meant Doctor." She steps out from behind him to address the black clad leader. At least the gun is pointing at the ground now. "We can understand what you're sayin' if that's what you mean."

"Of course we can... Wait. Is that what you meant? Why is that...? What's going on?"

"I don't know but you're coming with us," the gun is pointing at them again.

'James might have a point about Sod's Law,' he hears Rose whisper into his mind.

* * *

James stands holding Donna's hand on a hill as they stare out at the large city that stretches out before them. The crumbling mud brick of the old city abruptly changed into the green of the river park, and then just as brusquely into the gleaming white marble of the new city on the other side of the park. He watches a few shuttles and space hoppers going in to land in the spaceport, disappearing from view as they dipped behind the large and opulent palace that served as the seat of government.

"Nice view," he mumbles.

Donna tugs on his hand. He turns with her to look up at the Temple of History. The large mud brick building sits on the highest hill overlooking the city. its tall spires standing a dull yellow/brown in the bright blue sky.

It was originally built as a monastery; now it functions as a museum on the history of Barcelona. Built by the first settlers of the canyon who favored that a simple existence was the key to a happy life, they simply continued to call the village that built up around the monastery Barcelona, a tradition that stuck even after the influx of refugees caused the town to swell into a small but thriving city.

He felt aversion at the thought of entering the place. He had memories of going into places like this for only three reasons: One; to laugh at the primitive species, and how they always got everything wrong. Two; to see how often he came up on record, and again see how wrong they got things, and Three; impressing a companion with how he knew more about the history of an area than its own indigenous population. Then again, those weren't his memories they were his brothers. That was another thing, his 'brother'. The Doctor wasn't really his brother, but it was so much nicer for his sanity if he thought of himself as such, and not as the man's contaminated clone. Donna squeezed his hand.

"It's okay James," she sooths, "we'll get through this together." She began to stroke up and down his arm with her free hand. "I know you're confused, and that's okay, you're entitled to have an existential crisis, I mean who could blame you with all that's happened in the past forty-eight hours. Just know that I'm here, I'm not going anywhere, and I love you."

He lets out his breath in one big whoosh and with it all his negative emotions. She was right, so much had happened since he had woken up on the TARDIS floor that he needs to sort through. However, he would have to wait to ponder the meaning of his existence, right now they had a problem to solve.

He smiled down at his bondsmate. "Allons-y."

* * *

Rose stands at the back of what must have been a broom closet, before it was converted to the smallest holding cell she had ever been in - even the Doctor's kennel had been quite a bit bigger. She sighs as the Doctor continues to scan the walls and door looking for an opportunity to escape. The door is made of wood and opens out. It doesn't look like it even has a lock on it, there's probably just a chair or something braced against the door. That tells her that: one; the Doctor's sonic screwdriver won't help at all and two; that their captors didn't expect to take any hostages. In fact they seem to be some of the worst kidnappers that she's been abducted by. They hadn't taken the Doctor's screwdriver, or her cellphone, or even done a cursory inspection for weapons. Okay, they were amateurs. No, that didn't make sense either. They had broken into a kennel and set all the animals free... except the kennels were mainly filled with cat people not animals. They were confused when she and the Doctor spoke to them, understood them. The cat people in the market had all been just standing next to stalls, moving things around, not shopping... Slaves, they were being treated like slaves or animals. But, did the dog people know what was happening? She needed more information. "Doctor?"

"Hmmm?"

"What year is it?"

He stops his scanning to stare at her. "What? Why does that matter?" He seems completely confused by her question.

They hear scuffling outside the door and he turns to confront whoever's out there. She can't see past the Doctor to know who opened the door, but she is able to feel the Doctors fear spike.

"Peirce wants to talk to you, says you can understand us. Prove it," a gruff voice challenges.

"I don't like guns," the Doctor responds, "they make me feel uncooperative."

"So you can talk like us, that don't mean I trust you. I feel safer with my gun, thanks," scoffs the voice, "but I'll be nice, not point it atcha if you follow instructions."

"How kind," the Doctor says dryly.

"I think so. Come on."

Rose finally gets a view of their escort as she follows the Doctor out of the cupboard and into the bare grey hallway. He was an orange striped Cat Kind dressed in the same black outfits that the kennel bombers had been wearing. He seems young to Rose, she can't place why, but her impression is that he's in his teens. He was also holding a gun, but true to his word, it wasn't pointed at them.

"Just down that hallway there," he says while using the gun to point in direction he wants them to go.

She takes the Doctors hand and leads the way. Looking over her shoulder she sees the guard studying them, his gun is held loosely at his side. She knows she could probably disarm him before he even knew what hit him, but decides they'll get more information if they cooperate, and she is just too curious about what's going on. "What's your name?" she asks instead.

"Pon," he answers easily.

"Mine's Rose, and this is the Doctor," she introduces, then continues with information gathering, "who's Peirce?"

"He's the leader of the militia. It was his plan to free our families from the Canixe," he prideful declares.

"How long have the Canixe been treating you like this?" questions the Doctor.

Pon shrugs. "For as long as our fathers can remember." After a pause, he asks, "What are you? You look like a normal Baldy but you smell and sound different. And how do you talk like us?"

"A Baldy?" Rose can't help sounding offended.

"Yeah, you know, not Us or Canixe or Slimy. Walks like Us, but with no hair. You look like them, but you're not."

"He means Humans Rose," the Doctor clarifies with amusement.

"I do too have hair," Rose mutters.

"Humans?" asks Pon.

"They call themselves Humans, not Baldy. Most of them would take offence to being called Baldy," the Doctor tells Pon.

"Huh…" He seems to think about that. "Humans…" He shakes his head. "So what are you called?"

Rose opens her mouth to tell him, but closes it when the Doctor squeezes her hand and sends her a feeling of disquiet and suspicion.

"That's a bit complicated actually," the Doctor says as he tugs on his ear.

Pon stops and looks at him suspiciously for a moment before using his gun to gesture at a door beside them. "In there. Peirce is waiting."

The door leads to a large open room that is set up like barracks the universe over, with cots set up along the wall and sparse furnishings. Some of the beds are occupied, and she sees at least one child clinging to their mother on one of the narrow cots. Her attention is drawn to a greying black and white Cat Kind as he approaches and calls over his shoulder, "So these are your special Baldy, hey Peirce?"

Peirce as it turns out is the black Cat Kind that first caught her attention in the market place, the one she thought Jack would have fancied. He stops his conversation and moves toward them.

"Any trouble with them Pon?" Peirce asks ignoring the question.

"Nope. Actually had a nice conversation with them on the way here."

"Hi, I'm the Doctor and this is Rose. I'm told you're in charge around here." The Doctor dives in without preamble.

"You weren't kidding, they can talk… But how do you know they can talk to the dogs?" asks the black and white Cat. "You found them in a cell with everyone else, didn't you? What if they're property, like Us."

The Cat Kind that are close enough to listen into the conversation are all gawking at the Doctor and herself. She feels overwhelmed at the intensity of their stares. She also senses the uncomfortable buzz – the one that told her to pay attention, something was wrong - that had been niggling the back of her thoughts, crescendo into something she could not ignore. With that knowledge, came an instinctual drive to fix it - to soothe the buzz. They needed to help these people.

She feels the Doctors awe, joy, and fear as he caresses her mind. 'That's how a Time Lord sees time, Rose. These people have been held back from their potential, and time is buzzing trying to fix it…' He seems to whisper, 'And I've been alone for so long, no one was able to understand. Now I have you.'

Her heart swells with his admission and she sends her love and happiness to him. Realizing that the cats are still observing them, she quickly snaps out of her newlywed reveries. "That was a misunderstanding actually," she begins, only to be cut off by the Doctor.

"Yes, well. The point is that we can communicate with both the Canixe and you," says the Doctor as he gestures toward the fast growing Cat Kind audience, "the question I'd like answered is, when did all this start?"

Peirce stands tall as he tells the Doctor, "We are all too young to remember our world. The Canixe took us from our place and forced to do whatever they want us to do. They do not listen to us and we do not understand them. Can you help us Doctor?"

The Doctor stepped back to her, took her hand, and said, "Oh, yes. We are absolutely going to help." They smiled widely at each other before turning back to the small crowd. "So, what have you been up to so far?"


	4. Cat Got Your Tongue

A/N: Only one or two chapters left. Reviews are awesome and constructive criticism is appreciated!

Spoilers: New Who Series 1 thru 4.

Pairings: Rose/Doctor (10) and Donna/Duplicate (10.5)

Disclaimer: Even though everyone already knows it, I do not own Doctor Who.

* * *

James was indeed bored beyond tears. The loosely named 'history museum' barley had any historically valid facts. It seemed to be more of a way to indoctrinate the tourists and locals alike. The few things that were accurately depicted in placards and dioramas were things they already knew. Like: Barcelona had been colonized during The Second Great Human Diaspora; The population had been pronominally human for centuries until the planet was inundated with refugees; And while Barcelona looks primitive, especially the old city with its crumbling mud bricks it is actually very technologically advanced. With the latest state of the art translation system installed throughout the city.

He wanted to run screaming from the building, right after he re-cataloged some of the 'historical artifacts' that were mislabeled. This wasn't getting them anywhere. They needed to find out recent history. Maybe they were going about this all wrong. They needed to find a Cat Kind to talk to, and if none of their 'owners' would let them, they should become owners themselves. If you can't beat them, join them. Moreover, even though it was morally repugnant to own another being, it would only be a ruse.

He wanders over to Donna who is watching a holographic display of monks planting a small seedling. She huffs before turning to him.

"You find out anything?" she asks, even knowing he hasn't.

"Nope," he said, popping his 'p', "but I do have an idea."

She glowers at him with a raised eyebrow. "Well?"

"It's umm… well." He tugs on his ear. "You see, it would be a ploy, we wouldn't actually…"

"Just spit it out Slim Jim."

"We buy a Cat Kind." He sees Donna's look of disgust and rushes to reassure her. "Just to talk to them, we wouldn't keep them… I mean we'd set them free." His mouth is open to continue with his explanation until Donna raises her hand to forestall his runaway gob.

"That's not a bad idea. Let's go see a man about a cat." She smiles as she takes his hand and they leave the museum.

* * *

The small minimally lit room Pady (a chocolate Canixe that fairly screamed used car salesperson) had left them in while he checked his merchandise made Donna sick, it had to be the smell of the room, like fear and hopelessness. It had only been the work of a half hour to find someone willing to sell them a 'pet'. She shivered, the situation reminding her of so many that she now had the memories of. She squeezed James hand. She hadn't released it the entire time they searched. If she felt this way, she was sure he was feeling much worse. Pady came out of the back leading familiar smoky grey female Cat Kind by a collar and leash.

"You're in luck! I just had this one brought in just a few minutes ago," Pady declared, "she is a hard worker and follows instructions well."

Donna wanted to slap Pady. He had an oily smile and she could practically see the pound signs in his eyes, not that they used pounds here. To keep herself in check, Donna ignored Pady and instead focused on the Cat Kind. She kept her head down while Donna circled her, pretending to inspect her. Donna knew James was haggling, but she didn't focus on that conversation, knowing at best, she would slap the dog. She probably shouldn't leave James in charge of that, seeing he had a hard time controlling his emotions at this time.

"Okay dear, we're all set," James said as he put his arm on her lower back.

Donna glared disdainfully as she picked up the end of the leash. She crouched down in front of Kera and said in a soft voice, "Come on Sweetie, we're gonna get you out of here."

Kera's ears perked up, as she looked up sharply with wide eyes. James led the way out of the seedy establishment and into a side alley. Without wasting any time, Donna quickly took the collar off their companion.

"There that's better," Donna declared, "now, you're Kera right?"

"Yes," was the contrite reply.

"We aren't going to hurt you. In fact, you're free to go at any time. We'd just like some questions answered before you're off," James said softly.

"What kind of questions?" she seemed leery.

"How long have the Canixe been treating you like this? And, when did you come to Barcelona?"

"The Dogs have treated me like this since they took me from my mother. I was born here, but my grandmother told stories about her father being brought here to this planet when he was young."

"Do you know who took your people from your planet?"

"No."

"Any description of what they looked like or anything like that?"

"No, she said the monsters kept their faces hiden."

"Thank you for your help."

"Can I really go?"

"Of course. But you should probably stay out of sight. Do you have somewhere you can go hide out?" Donna asks.

"Why?" she asks back guardedly.

"If the Canixe find you wandering around on your own they might try to arrest you," Donna answers informatively.

"Oh I can help with that!" James declares as he pulls a bracelet from his pocket and hands it to the cat, "here. If you wear this it will allow you to move about for a while without drawing attention to yourself."

She looks at the bracelet quizzically before putting it on. "How does it work?"

"Well it just says that you're on a job for your owners, but it should do the job until we can sort everything out."

She smiles for the first time they'd seen. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Donna tells her.

They walk out of the alleyway and toward a major street before Kera heads off in another direction. "Thank you again," she says quietly.

"Thank you and good luck," James calls back as she disappears down another side street.

"So they don't know what's going on. Now what?" Donna asks James.

"Now," he says with a grin, "we go see what the top dog has to say."

Donna sighs. "I was wondering when the horrible puns would come out. Though I should probably congratulate you that it took this long."

"There's nothing wrong with a well-placed pun," he responds airily.

* * *

Not even twenty minutes later they hear someone shouting, "Hairless bipeds, stop where you are and raise your upper appendages."

They turn toward the speaker, a white Canixe in a uniform, and stare down the blaster pointed their way.

"What seems to be the problem officer?" Donna asks in her best imitation of coy.

James looks at her in exasperation. "No Donna. Just… no."

"You are under arrest," the dog declares through his confusion.

"What for?" James almost whines. Rose and the Doctor are supposed to be the magnets for Sods law not him and Donna.

The officer looks taken aback by these strangers but manages to stutter out, "For… For: destruction of public property; theft; and assault of an officer of the peace."

"What are you talking about?" James demands.

At the same time Donna bellows, "We haven't destroyed anything." She ticks off a finger. "Stolen anything." Another finger. "Or hurt anyone, sunshine."

The dog looks flabbergasted and overwhelmed. "You're still under arrest," he tells them weakly, still holding them at gunpoint. Three more policepersons come up behind the first and he visibly relaxes. "These being are under arrest, take them into custody," he nearly begs.

Two of the three new arrivals come forward to cuff them.

"Oi," Donna says, "paws off."

They ignore her and bind them both.

"You still didn't tell us what we did wrong," James asserts.

The third new arrival, who apparently outranks the original, states, "Destruction of-"

James cuts him off with, "Oi, I got that already. We haven't done anything like that. What did we supposedly do?"

"Beings matching your description were seen blasting a hole in a kennel and releasing all the animals inside. There were at least three animal affairs officers injured in the blast," he proclaims with disdain.

"What are you talking about?"

"We've been in the quarter market!"

Their cries go unheeded as the officers force them into a waiting police vehicle.

* * *

The Doctor pretends to listen to Peirce and Mran, the black and white cat from earlier, but his full attention is on Rose as she plays with the younger cats and kittens. They are playing some combination of hide-and-seek and tag. His chest swells with a tide of overwhelming emotions that simultaneously seem to make one of his hearts speed up and the other to stop. He wants to have a child with her. No make that children.

He can easily see her playing hide-and-seek with their children around the console and in some of the safer rooms in the TARDIS. He desperately needs that to happen. The force of this need to procreate, to father a new generation, surprises him. He really hadn't thought he would ever want that again, to be a father. Especially with everything that has happened to him and those he's loved. Jenny should have cured him of ever wanting to try again. He had told Rose he had wanted children. He did in a sort of, I-want-to-produce-offspring-at-some-point-in-the-future kind of way. But watching her run around the sad excuse for cots chasing a toddler Cat Kind and making silly growling noises, makes him ache for the chance to see her swollen with his child, cradling their baby, and playing silly games of peek-a-boo with their children.

His thoughts are interrupted by a fraternal thump on the back and a knowing grin from Mran.

"Hmm. What?" the Doctor asks distractedly.

Peirce shakes his head in exasperation, but Mran just chuckles.

"You're not gonna be any help if you can't keep your mind off your new mate," Mran informs him with put upon sagacity. Peirce just scoffs. "You'll have to forgive Peirce here. He has yet to find a mate and settle down. He doesn't know the hardships of-"

"Excuse me?" the Doctor interrupts as his voice raises an octave above his normal range. He does not want to hear about the other man's exploits.

"Please, not now," Peirce nearly begs in a low voice, "I don't have time for a mate, and we don't have time for your commentary on my personal life."

"Well I'm just sayin' there is always time for a mate," he said with a lascivious grin as he nudged the Doctor with his elbow, "am I right? Come on, maybe you could give him a few pointers."

"Uh… I'm not…" His normal way with words flees him and he blushes. Him. Blushing. He had been asked much more leading and lurid questions by far more notable, influential, and sensual individuals throughout the ages. It was just that his bond with Rose was so new; his instinct is to guard it jealously. He wants to keep it to themselves. Plus, Mran reminds him of some horrifying combination of Jack Harkness and Jackie Tyler, it truly is frightening. "I don't want to talk about it. Call it cultural differences."

Mran looks quizzical. "Huh?"

"That's not something we talk about. Our manners are different than yours."

"Well I know that," Mran says affronted that his intelligence has been called into question, "I mean you have no hair… How do you-"

"Please!" Peirce was begging now, "please, stop! Can we get back on track, please?"

The Doctor clears his throat. "Right… You were telling me how all this started."

"Thank you," Peirce mutters to himself.

"As we explained before, our fathers were taken from our home planet and brought to this one."

"Hasn't anyone tried to communicate with the Canixe, or any other being?"

"Of course we have," Peirce interjected, "We've tried everything from speech to writing, even gestures. Nothing works."

"That doesn't make any sense," the Doctor muses, "Barcelona is equipped with the best translation software currency can buy. It should have automatically deciphered your language and entered it into the database."

"Well then, how do you understand us?"

"Oh I don't need a translator. I'm brilliant, just needed to listen to you for a little." He grins smugly.

Rose joins them, takes the Doctor's hand, and looks at the three males. "So… What have you figured out so far?" she asks.

"The translation units here on Barcelona are the best out there, they should automatically detect a new language, but they aren't. However, they seem to be working otherwise. What am I missing?"

Addressing Peirce, Rose asks, "Is there any other people being treated like this?"

"It's possible, I guess," Peirce reluctantly replies, "We aren't able to communicate with them, so don't know if they're actually intelligent or not."

"How would the rest of the population feel about you being used like this?" Rose asks. Peirce shrugs. Rose turns to the Doctor.

"How would you feel if your pet Yorkie was actually a sapient being?"

"Point taken. So, someone doesn't want to lose their slaves… Sounds like a government cover-up to me," Rose declares. "How do we fix it?"

"Well… What would convince you that your Yorkie is a thinking feeling being?" the Doctor asks.

Rose had never thought of that. Most of the aliens she's met have either come out of spaceships or they were introduced by the Doctor. She quickly dismisses clothing as a sign of intelligence, as most little dogs are dressed up by their owners and she's met a few alien species that go around starker. "Language and technology," Rose decides. The Doctor just beams at her.

"All we have to do is install their language into the translation database and let them declare their sapience!"

"How do we do that? Isn't the TARDIS translating for us? Where is the database?" Rose rattles off quickly. The two Cat Kind watch this exchange like a tennis match, their heads following the flow of the conversation back and forth.

"The TARDIS is indeed translating for you, but I haven't needed help with languages since I was one hundred and fifty years old. Six billion languages up here, Rose Tyler," he says in his I'm-so-impressive voice while pointing at his head. "And, the database should be easy to find. In fact it should be at city hall."

"Wouldn't it be easier to have the TARDIS tap into the network and download it directly into the system?" Rose asks.

The Doctor opens his mouth to respond, thinks better of it, and closes his mouth. Blimey, but she's brilliant. Rose smirks knowingly at him, and he can't stop the distracting thing that brings to mind… Maybe they should go back to the TARDIS. "No," he hears himself say, "Need to figure out who's behind the cover-up. Can't do that from the TARDIS." 'Weellllll we probably could, if we were able to drag ourselves from our bedroom long enough to,' he adds silently to himself. Judging by her blush Rose heard that as well. He growls at her, and she groans. Peirce clears his throat. They leap apart, when had they gotten so close? Mran is scowling at Pierce, as if to say he'd been enjoying the show. Rose is blushing even more fiercely and he rubs his ear awkwardly. "Right… Well… Off we go. Come on Rose, Allons-y."

"Wait that's it? You're just going to leave?" Peirce demands.

"Yep," the Doctor says, popping the 'p'.

"We're going to go fix the translators so everyone else can understand you," Rose reassures.

"Well then I'm coming with you."

"No." The Doctor doesn't want anyone else around his Rose. Especially not some pretty boy. Not that Peirce is one of her usual type, but the Doctor had caught her earlier thought about him attracting Jacks attention. Also there was that odd notion he noticed during their bonding about his previous incarnation. She'd thought he'd been panther-ish in nature, all black leather and feline grace. It wasn't that he felt threatened by the newcomer. He just doesn't want anyone new around.

"Why's that Doctor?" Rose asks with fake sweetness. He knows he's been caught now. That she undoubtedly heard most, if not all, of his resent thoughts. His cheek begins to tingle where he had received the fabled Tyler Slap all those years ago. He covers his face protectively. Rose is staring at him.

"But, Ro-ose," he whines and uses the pout that works on her about thirty percent of the time. It's no use; Rose just continues to stare at him. He huffs. "Fine." He turns back to Pierce. "You can accompany us, but you have to follow some ground rules. First, Don't touch Rose. B, do what I tell you. And lastly, don't wander off."

Rose sighs, shoots him a dirty look, drops his hand, and takes Peirce's. "Don't listen to him. He's just being a possessive git." She's sending her anger and disdain at him through their bond. It is enough to make him feel slightly guilty at his rudeness, but not nearly adequate enough to extinguish the burning jealousy that grips his chest at the sight of HIS Rose holding someone else's hand. He has the Oncoming Storm in his eyes as he glares first at Rose, then at the pour young cat who is holding his bondsmate's hand. He walks to her in two steps. It's not enough to just take her hand, so he wraps her arm around her instead, pulling her flush against him. He knows he's flooding the air with possessive and 'keep away' pheromones, but doesn't stop his body's natural reaction to the perceived threat to their new bond.

Rose promptly stomps on his converse clad foot. He yelps as he stares at her in gob smacked shock. "Stop it!" she hisses at him. 'Apologize!' He's stunned at the volume and intensity of the mental command. He feels cowed immediately, realizing that he's more likely to lose her from his own stupidity than some pretty bloke turning her head.

Looking at Peirce, it's obvious the boy doesn't find Rose attractive as a potential mate. He is, in point of fact, exuding fear pheromones, as is Mran. He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry. Cultural differences… The bond's so new… I'm sorry, I shouldn't of let it to go that far. Sorry."

"I just wanted to make sure you got to city hall," Peirce says to the floor.

Rose elbows him. 'Rude, not ginger, and apparently a possessive git.' He cannot help agreeing with her assessment, and hopes she can forgive him.

"Right," he says still embarrassed at his childishness, "Lead the way."


End file.
